


Guys Like Him Cant Happen

by ImpracticallyPractical



Series: TISWNW [3]
Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Elmer is Jealous, F/M, Hickies, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Kind of Sort of Not Really - Freeform, M/M, Neck Kissing, Protective Siblings, Protectiveness, Race is a Freshman, Spot is a Senior, Summer Fling, Summer Romance, hickey, jack is pissed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-16 13:07:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20819480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImpracticallyPractical/pseuds/ImpracticallyPractical
Summary: Elmers long time crush and best friend (occasional fuck buddy) loses interest, or moreso, his interest shifts.





	Guys Like Him Cant Happen

“Yeah its like this stream, looks really calm and stuff, like you could just wade through to the other side but literally no one to ever go in has survived because of the undercurrent-” David stuck his finger in Jacks face at the oncoming question, “An undercurrent is the pull of the water you cant see. Like a riptide but it goes down the entire length of the Strid.”

“Why is its name bolton?” Les piped up, the little 9 year old insisting on tagging along with David whenever possible.

“Well,” David started, getting cut off by Race strolling into the kitchen with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. Jack barked out a laugh, David covered his mouth with the back of his hand, Elmer just looked suspiciously at the freshman. 

“S’ that look for, half pint?” Jack snickered.

“None’a your business.” Race quipped back, chucking a slice of cheese at him as he closed the fridge, gallon of chocolate milk in his hand. Jack grabbed it off the floor and threw it right back, smacking him in the cheek with it when he tried to drink from the container.

“You got a little girlfriend?” David whistled, laughing out loud wit Jack at Races deep blush in response. No one else seemed to notice as Elmer turned back to the table, fishing out his phone and typing out a text.

“No, I dont got a girlfriend.” Race sneered, pulling up his hood to cover his embarrassment, “I was just talkin’ with some’a my new friends from school on XBOX.” At that Elmer got up and stormed out of the room, running up the stairs roughly. 

“The hell is his problem?” Jack muttered.

\--

“Spot, we gonna go to see IT this weekend? You still think you’ll be able to get outta practice?” Elmer smiled, holding his head up in his palms on the table.

“I’unno. Practice was canceled but I was gonna go with Racer,” Spot smiled at the freshman across the cafeteria as he walked in the doors, waving him over. He had to get a later ride from Medda because Elmer may or may not have “forgotten” him at home. 

“Really? What you infatuated with the kid already? You known him for like a week, you been my best friend since we was in 8th grade.” Elmer gawked, glaring at his brother who was striding confidently over to the table where the rest of the seniors sat.

“Yeah we has, so what's the big deal? I wanna get to know your brother, what's the harm?” Spot asked, surprised at his friend's reaction.  
“Just forget it.” Elmer sat back in his chair, snarling silently as Race sat down just a little too close to his friend. 

\--

Elmer walked into the locker room after the wrestling competition Spot came out on top as always. Spot was the only teammate he didn't see leave the showers after the match, he figured he would ask if he needed a ride home. Or wanted to go out to taco bell before going home. Or wanted to stay the night at his house seeing as crutchy, his roommate, was in the hospital for surgery the next morning. 

He turned, walking down the long path forming a sort of hallway between the rows of lockers on either side of the room. A half dead light flickered overhead, giving a weird doom-filled aura to the familiar scene. 

“Spot?” He called out, suddenly wanting to get in and out of there as fast as possible. He could hear shuffling in the showers but no one responded, the showers weren’t running, maybe he was getting dressed or packing his duffel bag up. 

As Elmer passed under the flickering light and the buzzing from the faulty rod rose to a peak the feeling in Elmers gut intensified tenfold. Not the feeling he would get at watching Spot at practice or at competitions. Not the feeling he would get whenever he would make extended eye contact with his ‘best friend’, remembering the feeling of the shorter mans hands against his sweaty body that drunken night toward the beginning of last summer. This was the same gut-wrenching feeling he remembers experiencing at Snyders place in the dead of night, the rehabilitation place he lived in for six months after being rescued from human trafficking, the home that made his skin crawl at anyone standing behind him five years after the fact.

Elmer crossed the threshold between the locker room and showers, pulling back the flimsy curtain, working up to call out Spots name again only to have the words die on his lips at the sight of his fourteen year old brother perched up in his best friends lap, his eyes closed and head thrown back as the wrestling Captain sucked marks onto his pale neck, his rough hands gripping around Races waist to pin him in place, too caught up in each other to hear Elmer. 

Elmer felt sick, the dread in his gut crescendoing into full blown nausea as he ran back through the locker room, letting the heavy metal door slam closed behind him. He made it out to the dark parking lot, nearly skidding on a patch of ice as he rushed to the sanctuary of his car.

\--

“Hey, Jack. Elmer stumbled into the living room, his nose and cheeks red from the cold and possibly from the utter betrayal he felt. Sure, they weren’t dating, not officially at least, but Elmer loved him and he thought Spot loved him back. Spot was his first, he felt stupid to think that meant anything to the guy in school known to sleep with anything that breathes.

“Sup Elm’?” Jack perked up, pausing the B rated movie and shifting the sleeping, heavily pregnant, Katherine off of him onto the couch. “What’s wrong?” He whispered, stretching the crook out of his neck he received from sleeping on the couch. 

Elmer sat on the glass topped coffee table in front of his just slightly older brother. “Race is sleeping with a senior,” Elmer laughed bitterly. He knows he was being a dick for involving Jack but god, if anyone would be pissed it would be Jack, obviously for different reasons.

“What?! Who?” Yep Jack was pissed. For reasons unknown to pretty much everyone who knew them Jack was much more protective of the 14 year old than anyone else who had ever made their way through their two floor townhouse. Ever since he was 12, an angry little thing with jaw length curly blond hair and these bright blue eyes that looked so damn sad, Jack had decided Race was his like a reverse duckling-imprinting-on-a-stranger story. Two years later Race has shifted his opinion on the matter quite a bit, going from practically never having a kind touch in his life to having some 15 year old asshole not letting him smoke or hit people as if he has any right, to loving having someone there for him who loves him and cares about him no matter how much he fucks up, and back and forth and back and forth many many times. Currently they’re in an “I Hate This Asshole Who Does He Think He Is” phase (Though no one says anything when Race is sleeping curled up in bed next to Jack most mornings).

“Sp-Sean Conlon.” Elmer stuttered, he can't make this look like a personal vendetta. He has to pretend he hasn't had such a rich history with the boy who had his hands all over his brother. 

“That little shit pickin up freshmen now? God you’d figure he’d have some self control.” Okay Jack was a little more pissed than Elmer figured he would be. “Gimme your keys im gonna fuckin kill him.” Jack stood up, startling Katherine awake. 

“What's goin’ on?” Katherine rubbed her eyes, struggling to sit up. 

“Apparently Conlon has been messin around with Race.” Shit Jack looks like hes gonna kill someone. He was shaking with anger and that vein was popping out of his neck, Elmer would have sworn he could see Jacks heart pounding.

Just then Race walked in the door, Jack took in the array of bruises on Races throat and jaw, he shot up and pushed passed him out the door. All that could be heard inside was Jacks voice, Spots voice, and tires screeching as Spot ripped out of the driveway and down the street.

\--

“Honey I just need you to tell me the truth, I wont be mad I promise.” Medda consoled, trying to coax a confession out of her second youngest son.

“Momma I am, he ain't never touched me. We just kissed a few times I swear!” Race sobbed, “I promise you I ain't lyin’!” 

Jack sat himself outside of Race’s (and Albert’s) closed bedroom door, listening in, trying to figure out what exactly was going on.

“So you’re saying Elmer is lying? Why would he try to get you in trouble?” Medda sounded so tired. Jack couldn’t help but feel bad at dragging her away from sitting with Crutchie at the hospital, he wasn’t the one who called her of course but when Jack came back inside with bruised bleeding knuckles on one fist Elmer was the one to call Medda in an attempt to calm Jack down.

“I don't know, Spot is his best friend maybe- maybe he likes him? We was kissing in the locker room Elmer must’ve seen us!” Race pleaded, reaching for anything he could. He was telling the truth, of course, but with Race’s reputation of acting out, lying, stealing, the house undoubtedly sided with Elmer.

“Race I want you to stay away from him. You’re to come straight home after school and your phone will be in my room whenever you’re not at school unless I say otherwise.” Medda stated finally, trying to remain calm.

“Mom no!” The younger boy yelled in response, “You can’t do that! What if I need to call you or Jack?!” 

“Then you’ll be home and you can use the house phone.”

“For how long? What about gymnastics?”

“Until I know you won't be seeking that boy out. I just want to keep you safe, honey.” She replied, clearly losing her temper, “As for gymnastics, once the season starts ill stay at school to bring you home. I will be calling the coach to make sure you stay there the whole time.”

“Mom, please, you don’t understand-” Race began to plead again, Jack could visualize him biting the skin around his fingernails. They’ve never been able to break him of that nervous habit.

“Race, yes I do. I understand more than you realize. Please understand im just trying to keep you safe.” Jack scurried away from the door back to his own room when Medda made her way to the door, but not before seeing Races tear drenched, absolutely heartbroken expression.


End file.
